Navigation menu

Bible Journaling

Wednesday, January 06, 2016

After Christmas a friend of mind was telling us on Facebook that she got the new journaling Bible that she wanted. I wasn't sure what a journaling Bible was so I Googled it. I actually had been journaling for years and just didn't know it.

Apparently journaling is just recording thoughts, sermons or sayings in your Bible. I have always written in my Bible, it makes me feel like the Bible is personalized to me.

When I looked up journaling online I was amazed by the beauty and time some people put into their Bibles. I was completely motivated and started beautifying (if it's possible to make a perfect book more beautiful) my own Bible that day. I'm not an artist but I like to doodle. I don't have a journaling Bible per say but I my new Bible has large margins and perfect for beautifying. A lot of people decorate the entire page along with the text but I want my Bible to still be readable so I stay in the margins.

I was a little discouraged when I first read a post about what's needed for journaling. The list was huge and complicated. I thought it would take me forever to find all the needed implements for this job until I realized that basically colored pencils and the Frixion pens I already have was enough.

A thing of beauty is a joy forever.
-John Keats

With my son getting married soon I've been thinking a lot about being a grandmother. I would like to be able to hand my Bible down to a grandchild and them be able to see a little bit of me in it.

Anyhoo, I just thought I'd share another one of those "nice but not necessary" things I'm doing this year. Do you journal in your Bible?

15 comments:

Oh how pretty....no, I only highlight in my Bible...I was always taught it was wrong to write in the Bible/God's Word. I am so happy for your son...and thoughts of being a grandparent (big smiles). Many Happy Blessings to you, friend.

I write notes in my Bible but to me it is not for journaling. Journals are for that!lol I just got a new KJV Bible from Thru the Bible with J Vernon McGee. I have used the NIV and the ESV and I just wanted to go back to what I read as a child and young teen. The Wording of the KJV is so rich and the Psalms are so beautiful. They seem to lose something in the new translations. I myself have been tempted by the Erin Condren planners that all all the rage here Tori. They cost a good deal and the $3 planner I got at Ross is doing just fine for me. How easy it is for me to think I "need" something new so I do understand the pull to that journaling Bible. I do think that your grandchildren will love seeing a Bible that was well loved and if you underline verses etc, they will like knowing what you found meaningful.

Is that a Bearing Precious Seeds Bible? Looks like the wide margins in my husband's. I was also one of those taught not to mark up your Bible a lot, but over the years I have begun to underline things that stand out to me. I like being able to go back and see stuff that was important to me. My mom's old Bible has the name of preachers and the date they preached the sermon. I used to do that, but being a preacher's wife we are in church meetings so often that it was beginning to look pretty ridiculous! lol So when I got a new Bible I decided not to do that! Anyway, I think the drawings on the side of yours are beautiful, do not block the words, and look tasteful. I'm a HORRIBLE artist, so I won't be doing that to mine. I would hate to see stick figure people along the sides of my Bible! hahaha But I think how you've done it looks nice. :) My husband writes sermon notes or thoughts or outlines along the side margins of his Bible, and his Bible is a definite treasure to him!

I started doing a bit of "journaling" of sorts using Doorposts method of study with very small picture notations. I still struggle to write in my Bible, but I do want to leave my heart in my Bible time.

I underline and sometimes make a note or two on the side, but nothing like this beautiful artwork! I have lots of little notebooks I've filled up. Wow, some of it is amazing! I'll have to do a search and see more. :-) ♥

Lovely! I follow artist Karla Dornacher on Facebook and have seen her do a lot of this kind of thing. I admire it but have little talent in that direction. I can see it would be a neat way to meditate on the passage one is illustrating.

I had a gift certificate at Lifeway so I just got me a journaling bible. I have not written a thing in it yet. I'm going to have to take the plunge soon. I love your art work that you have done so far!

Tori, I am so amazed at your Bible journaling. I too discovered this and bought a wide margin Bible for this purpose but the print is too small to read comfortably. It is was also a hard back. I find it hard to find wide margin large print Bibles. I do underline but I really would like to do this.

I've taken a peek at some of the new journaling Bibles, but I've stuck to just using my favorite Bibles for sermon and study notes, and I'm pretty picky about what pens I use in them because the pages are so delicate (and old). Your journaling notes look lovely, though. :)

Such pretty work! My bible is full of notes and getting rather old, like maybe 30+ years. It is tattered in places and just this Christmas my youngest grandson found it sitting on the coffee table and tore out several pages. I guess he is the one it will get passed down to :)